


My Promise to You

by Lady_of_Inklings



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Human Yuuri, M/M, Merman Victor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-10
Updated: 2017-11-10
Packaged: 2019-01-31 09:14:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12678873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_of_Inklings/pseuds/Lady_of_Inklings
Summary: Day 4 of the Yuri on Ice AU week: Merman/MermaidOne with so much to ask and one with so little to say..............





	My Promise to You

The first time Yuuri saw a merperson was when he was eight years old. 

He could remember every detail, from the cold atmosphere of the aquarium to the chatter of his classmates. 

All his classmates had been gathered near the giant plane of shatterproof glass, excitedly pointing at the colourful fishes, waiting anxiously for the mermaid to show itself. Yuuri had been just as excited about seeing a real merman as his classmates had been. They patiently waited an entire year for this trip. 

Trying to get to the front was tricky, all of the other kids kept pushing him back.

He couldn’t help but be disappointed, he really wanted to see the mermaid. 

A lot of people doubted the existence of a mermaid. Afterall, nobody had seen them in centuries and this particular aquarium gloating about ‘capturing a real live merman’ seemed like a bunch of bull. 

Yuuri could hear his teacher calling the students away, eager to move onto the next exhibit. 

His classmates groaned in dismay but their homeroom teacher couldn’t care less. The students distanced themselves away from the glass, grumbling as they passed Yuuri. So far the merman was a no-show. He sighed dejectedly. Yuuri stepped forward squinting his eyes. He was so close to the glass that his breath started to fog it up. His hand rested on the fogged glass as he searched the cerulean waters for a glimpse of a tail only to find nothing awaited him there. 

“Hello,” He said, hesitantly. 

To be frank, he felt like an idiot. What the hell was he doing anyway? He was pretty sure that dogfish was giving him a dirty look. 

The blue water remained still as ever. 

He glanced at the exit of the exhibit. His classmates were probably way ahead if him by this point. If he wanted to get back to him and not miss the bus then he would have to leave right now. 

Yuuri turned around, only to see the spaces where blue had been to be taken up by various shades of pink. A face peered right back at him, curious blue eyes looking at him as his scales glittered like diamonds in the pale light. Yuuri looked on in awe as the merman's wispy silver stands swirled, draping over his pale shoulders. His fins were wide and translucent like the beta fish Mari had. 

He was beautiful but so, so sad. There was just something about him that felt unnatural (besides the having a tail part) to Yuuri. The merman didn’t belong here all alone in this giant pond with no one to keep him company but the little schools of fish that slipped through his hair. There was a sadness that showed in his blue eyes, something that Yuuri was was yet to understand. 

The merman's hand rested near Yuuri's, only an inch of glass separating the both of them. 

He followed the path of scales from his tail to his torso which scattered across his pale chest, disappearing all together near the gills that filled the spaces between his ribs. 

“Hello,” Yuuri said, his tongue weighted by the foreign word. 

The merman tilted his head, his hair following his movements. He lifted up his other hand waving to Yuuri as a small smile lit up his face. 

“You…...understand?” Yuuri asked in stilted English. 

He nodded. 

“Speak?” 

The merman tapped his index finger to his Adam's apple and then proceeded to shake his head like Ariel did in the little mermaid. 

So he couldn’t speak after all but he could somehow understand human language. Yuuri wondered if he could write a well. The merman glanced up nervously, biting his lip. He looked so tense like a porpoise when a shark was near, something was scaring him. Was he even supposed to be near Yuuri--much less interact with him? 

That wasn’t fair. 

He wasn't supposed to be cooped up in a tank at all in the first place. 

Yuuri could feel anger bubble up, gushing through his blood, making it boil at the audacity of the aquarium to do this to him. 

It wasn’t fair. Nothing about this was fair. 

The merman must have sensed Yuuri’s anger through the glass. He tapped it, bringing Yuuri away from his thoughts.

“My name is Yuuri,” he said.   
The merman smiled brightly, his finds spasming with excitement. If only Yuuri could hear him speak, that would be nice. He also wondered if this merman had a name. 

The staff had simply called him ‘the merman.’ 

“I wish I knew your name.” Yuuri leaned his forehead against the cool glass, his eyes gazing into the merman’s eyes. They were such a pretty shade of blue, calm and tranquil like the sea in his hometown. 

“Katsuki!” 

Yuuri turned his head at the sound of his name, breaking eye contact with the merman. His teacher looking more exasperated by the minute came stomping into the exhibit, one of the chaperones trailing behind her. When Yuuri looked back at the merman, he had been gone. There was no trace of the merman he had a one-way conversation with only a few seconds ago, not even a handprint. 

His teacher steered him to the exit but Yuuri kept looking behind him at the large pane of glass to the merman exhibit. He watched as it receded from view, not a hint of pink to be seen. 

Yuuri really hoped that he didn’t hallucinate the whole thing. 

He needed to come back, as soon as he could. One day, in the near future, he would come back. 

He promised.


End file.
